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 AALE ACCREDITATION ~ 2003

DATE: May 5,2003
CONTACTS: Jeffrey D. Wallin, AA.LE President, or William Craig Rice, AALE Director of Education Assessment and Charter School Programs
PRESS RELEASE: AMERICAN ACADEMY FOR LIBERAL EDUCATION GRANTS NATIONAL ACCREDITATION TO BLACK RIVER PUBLIC SCHOOL IN HOLLAND, MICHIGAN

The American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE) announced today that it had granted national accreditation to Black River Public School, Holland, MI, at the May 3 meeting of its Board of Trustees. As a new AALE member school, Black River Public School (BRPS) joins the Princeton Charter School of Princeton, NJ, the BASIS School of Tucson, AZ, The Franklin Academy of Wake Forest, NC, Tempe Preparatory Academy of Tempe, AZ, and The Humanities and Sciences Institute, of Phoenix and Tempe, AZ, and The Classical Academy, of Colorado Springs, CO.

The American Academy for Liberal Education began its program to accredit outstanding charter schools in 2002. Since 1995 the U.S. Department of Education has recognized AALE as an accreditor of colleges and university programs that offer B.A. degrees in the liberal arts. Its Charter School Advisory Board includes some of the country's top authorities on education reform. The AALE Charter School Accreditation Program is designed "to recognize public charter schools of high distinction" and insure that young people are prepared with the knowledge and sills required for liberal education in college. The U.S Department of Education only recognizes post-secondary accreditors. Therefore, no accreditor-whether regional or AALE-is federally recognized at the K- 12 level for public, charter, or independent schools.

AALE's Site Evaluation Team visited the school on February 24-26 and conducted an extensive study. The study looked at education standards of n3ission, curriculum, assessment, special education, and teacher quality; and institutional standards of educational resources, organization and governance, financial management, student services, and facilities.

The Black River Public School, which opened in 1996, is the brainchild of local business and community leaders and professors at nearby Hope College in Holland, MI. Guided by a strong academic mission, they continue to pool their professional talents as members of the BRPS governing board. Black River offers instruction from grades 4 to 12; it draws students from the surrounding area, reflecting local demographics. It boasts exceptional performance on measures of student learning, including Advanced Placement and the Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP). In all areas, the school emphasizes student investment in their own learning. "Black River Public School makes the case for liberal education. It shows how you can both set high standards in traditional core subjects and maintain lively student involvement," remarked AALE President Jeffrey Wallin. "Our site visitors were struck by many fine features of the school, including its science program, its intense arts curriculum, its integrated core in humanities based on world regions, and its handsome facilities."

To achieve AALE accreditation, charter schools must meet benchmarks that focus on educational and administrative excellence. They must demonstrate that they offer a content-rich academic curriculum in the arts and sciences to all students regardless of background, that they make effective use of assessments, including objective and high-stakes tests, and that they hire and promote teachers based on how well their students learn, rather than on the teacher's certification status. AALE also requires evidence of effective leadership and financial strength.

The application process that these schools have now completed involves several stages: initial meetings and consultations, a formal application and the writing of a rigorous self-study by the school, a site team visit by professional peers and education experts, a response to the team report, evaluation by the AALE Charter School Board of Review, and finally for=l action by the AALE Board of Trustees.

"The Black River Public School has met our standards very well indeed-and in every stage of the accreditation process," commented Wallin. "We are pleased to count it as a new member, given its manifest commitment to quality education for all. We congratulate the school on achieving what we believe are the highest standards in the whole realm of K-12 public education."

The American Academy for Liberal Education expects to review completed applications for accreditation from additional charter schools in the near future in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington, DC.